Welcome to Sidney´s Web Page!

Sidney is our pet Bearded Dragon. He is named after the Baltimore Orioles pitcher Sidney Ponson. Captive-born and hand-raised, Sidney is a calm but occasionally active little guy. He is still a little timid around the other animals in the house, like Saucy.

Here are Sidney's other pages and page sections:

Technically speaking, Sidney is an Inland Bearded Dragon; by far the most common species found in the North American pet trade. The full taxonomic name for Sidney's species is:

kingdom Animalia

phylum CHORDATA

class REPTILIA

subclass LEPIDOSAUROMORPHA

order SQUAMATA

Suborder Iguania

family Agamidae

species Pogona vitticeps

This picture was taken in late August 1999. Sidney came to live with Neal and Julie Ziring on August 2, 1999. Before that, he lived at House of Tropicals in Glen Burnie, MD. He was hatched by a Maryland reptile breeder in June, 1999.

Is a Bearded Dragon the Right Pet for You?

Lizards can be very nice pets, but they are not for everybody. Any reptile requires substantial care, and an active young bearded dragon will require quite a lot of care. To decide if a bearded dragon is the right pet for you, answer the following questions:

Part 1:

Will you enjoy keeping live crickets and worms in the house to feed the little dragon? [Crunch, Crunch!]
As the dragon gets older, he'll need more vegetables; will you have the time and patience to buy fresh veggies and chop them up for the dragon to eat?
Are you prepared to clear up lizard poop? (Peuw!)
A full-grown bearded dragon needs at least a 30-gallon tank or 3-foot cage. Do you have room to keep a sizable tank or cage indoors?
Part 2:
Do you find wild animals and their behavior fascinating?
Will you enjoy the challenge of raising a tiny hatchling up to a robust, healthy adult?
Have you always wanted a lizard, but didn't want to take one from the wild? [All bearded dragons sold are captive-born.]
Do you have about US$120 in spare cash hanging around?

If you answered yes to all of these questions, then a bearded dragon could be the right reptile for you. Remember, while no lizard pet will be as cuddly or affectionate as a dog, beardies are much more docile and friendly than most.

For more information about this issue, check out Melissa Kaplan's article So, you think you want a reptile?.

If you've already gotten a bearded dragon, and are wondering how best to take care of it, visit one of the care site links below, and also check out this site's care tips.

Sidney's Collection of Bearded Links

Here are some links to other bearded dragon and related web sites. They are divided into three groups: pet-oriented sites, science-oriented sites, and commercial breeder and pet product sites.

Care Information and Pet Bearded Dragon Sites

Bearded dragon links at the Yahoo!: About a dozen sites in the Yahoo directory.
Bearded dragon @ Wikipedia: Very nice article at Wikipedia, with links.
Bearded Dragon: Care sheet and information on bearded dragon pet care, habitat, vivarium, food, health, breeding and bearded dragon buying tips.
Bearded Dragons Offline: wonderful dragon site, with a wealth of information
Bearded Dragons Online: Pretty nice site, with interesting size survey and lots of pictures and links.
The Waving Dragon: A new Yahoo! Club devoted to beardies, supports chats, picture post, etc.
Karnivor's Herp Homepage: information about a wide variety of mostly carnivorous lizards, including beardies
Sonny's Bearded Dragon Page: pretty large site, good selection of care info and some nice pictures, and some good links.
Tosney's Bearded Dragon Care: extensive site with pictures, somewhat technical care information, and lots of links and references (Note: the dragon shopping list is especially good.)
Lazarus and ?: Small site with some cute pictures of two pet dragons, and some basic but useful care information.
Tom's Lizardworld DB Home: Informative little site with some cute pictures and nice links.
The Dragon's Den: fairly extensive dragon site with a good picture collection
Bearded Dragons City: pretty extensive site featuring Rupert the bearded dragon
Care of the Australian Bearded Dragon: concise care sheet by herptologist Peter Weis
Dragon's Down Under: background and care for beardies by authority Melissa Kaplan
Lizard Home Page: personal pages of a couple devoted to their reptile pets (2 beardies, 1 ig)
Bearded Dragons - The Best Lizards Pets: Fairly big bearded dragon site by an enthustiastic owner and amateur breeder
Netlizard.net: fairly new lizard care and information site, includes beardies
Beardies Web Ring Home: modest web ring for bearded dragons' pages
General Care of Bearded Dragons: pretty good care site, with a nice section on building a good beardie cage
Lizard Heaven!: Very extensive lizard care site, with good bearded dragon info and nutrition facts
HerpIndex - The Ultimate Site for Herp Links: massive link collection for all reptiles
The Pogona Mailing List: Very friendly and active mailing list for bearded dragon owners and breeders. Click on the link above and then hit your mailer's SEND button to subscribe. To get more details first, click here and send.

Scientific Bearded Dragon Sites

Pictures of Pogona Country: information about the native land of Pogona vitticeps
THE EMBL REPTILE DATABASE: taxonomic database of reptile species
Herp-edia.com: online reptile encyclopedia: broad overview of extant reptiles
Animal Diversity Web: Order Squamata: major phylogenetic resource, but doesn't include beardies yet
Pogona: An Australian Perspective: Small scientific article about Pogona species and their habitats.

Commercial Bearded Dragon Product Sites

Bearded-Dragons.com: Fairly extensive BD site with commercial info, links, etc. Looks rather new, maybe still under construction?
B.D. King: Modest commercial site, offers pictures of dragons for sale, shipping info, etc. Also has useful care information and pictures.
Borderview Bearded Dragons: dragon breeder's site, with care info
Crickets, Delivered Live To Your Door....Guaranteed!: very friendly vendor of crickets, a young beardie's favorite food
The PV Dragon's Lair: modest but informative site by a 'designer' dragon breeder
Big Apple Herpetological: possibly the largest reptile care retailer on the web
Bearded Dragons and other Creatures: Another breeders of bearded dragons (Pogona vitticeps)
Bearded Dragons and More: Informative page by a dragon breeder who offers both P. vitticeps and P. henrylawsoni
The Yellow Dragon: web site for a breeder of unusual color bearded dragons and other lizards
Bearded Dragons Galore - Breeder, Dealer & Care Links: Directory of care sheets, breeders, suppliers, etc.

Sidney's pages: [Home] [Picture Gallery] [Care & Feeding Info] [Overview of Bearded Dragon species]

Ziring site pages: [Ziring MicroWeb Home] [Kiwi's Page] [Sign Guestbook]
This page written by Neal Ziring, last modified 11/4/08.